Extreme Overclocking: MSI GTX460 Cyclone 1 GB GDDR5

GTX460: Beyond 1000Mhz!

The Jagat Review OC team began pouring LN2 coolant into the K|ngp|n Tek9 GPU pot immediately, cooling off the GTX 460 a few good degrees below zero. The 1000 MHz mark, rumored to be the absolute limit of the GTX 460, turned out to be quite easy to reach with 1,25 V of electricity pumped into the GPU. We even managed to score 1053 MHz, with the temperature hovering at around -15 degree Celsius.

Lowering the temperature to -60C and adding a few more voltage (1.3 V) to the GPU further increased the clockspeed to 1107 MHz. The graphics card managed to pass 3D Mark Vantage benchmark and came up with a GPU score of 18378. At -75C, however, we stumbled upon a cold bug that renders it inoperable.

Any voltage setting higher than 1.32V will shut this graphics card down, due to its over-voltage protection mechanism. We noted a maximum allowed voltage of around 1.31-1.32V.

After about one hour meddling around with some settings, we finally concluded our best result: 1134 MHz core frequency, and 1107 memory clock speed. Combined with the Intel Core i5 661 platform running at 4.7 GHz, the overall system ended up with a GPU Score of 19843 in 3D Mark Vantage (performance preset), while the total score was P17769.

Up Next: Full-blown GTX460 overclocking session with the Core i7 980X!

The almost-20000 Vantage GPU score achieved by the Jagat Review OC team is remarkably good by most standards. Still, for those who would settle for nothing else than 20000+ combined points, the 17769 P-rating might seem disappointing. Such limitation occurred because we were only using a Core i5 661 processor that, despite its overclocked speed of 4.7 GHz, did not yield enough CPU points to produce a record-breaking final score. Something came across our minds… How about pairing this super-overclockable beast of a graphics card with a monster CPU, capable of unleashing every bit of potential from the GTX 460?

Around 60 liters of LN2 coolant remain in our containment cylinder, and one of our dear overclockers, Alva Jonathan, has already prepared a Core i7 980X Extreme Edition processor for a second, hard-core overclocking attempt. The modded GTX 460 stands ready for yet another round of torture. See the upcoming results only at www.JagatReview.com!